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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TideGlider who wrote (548021)	3/4/2004 9:18:16 AM
From: JakeStraw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

LOL! That and Chrissy C needs to get professional help and a life!!

To: TideGlider who wrote (548021)	3/4/2004 11:25:55 AM
From: Skywatcher	Respond to of 769667

pollkatz.homestead.com at least you're getting the message like many others CC

To: TideGlider who wrote (548021)	3/4/2004 11:27:26 AM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Avoiding Attacking Suspected Terrorist Mastermind By Jim Miklaszewski NBC News Tuesday 03 March 2004 Abu Musab Zarqawi blamed for more than 700 killings in Iraq With Tuesday's attacks, Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant with ties to al-Qaida, is now blamed for more than 700 terrorist killings in Iraq. But NBC News has learned that long before the war the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger. In June 2002, U.S. officials say intelligence had revealed that Zarqawi and members of al-Qaida had set up a weapons lab at Kirma, in northern Iraq, producing deadly ricin and cyanide. The Pentagon quickly drafted plans to attack the camp with cruise missiles and airstrikes and sent it to the White House, where, according to U.S. government sources, the plan was debated to death in the National Security Council. "Here we had targets, we had opportunities, we had a country willing to support casualties, or risk casualties after 9/11 and we still didn't do it," said Michael O'Hanlon, military analyst with the Brookings Institution. Four months later, intelligence showed Zarqawi was planning to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe. The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it. By then the administration had set its course for war with Iraq. "People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president's policy of preemption against terrorists," according to terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey. In January 2003, the threat turned real. Police in London arrested six terror suspects and discovered a ricin lab connected to the camp in Iraq. The Pentagon drew up still another attack plan, and for the third time, the National Security Council killed it. Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi's operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam. The United States did attack the camp at Kirma at the beginning of the war, but it was too late — Zarqawi and many of his followers were gone. "Here's a case where they waited, they waited too long and now we're suffering as a result inside Iraq," Cressey added. And despite the Bush administration's tough talk about hitting the terrorists before they strike, Zarqawi's killing streak continues today. CC

To: TideGlider who wrote (548021)	3/4/2004 11:28:36 AM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

another lie from CAMP BUSHKEE 'Activist Judges' Mainly GOP Appointees Study Shows By Doreen Brandt 365Gay.com Newscenter Tuesday 02 March 2004 (Washington, D.C.) A Senate sub committee Wednesday will hear testimony about the implications of judicial decisions supporting same-sex marriage. The hearing, set up by Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) the chair of the subcommittee, is officially titled "Judicial Activism vs. Democracy: What are the National Implications of the Massachusetts Goodridge Decision and the Judicial Invalidation of Traditional Marriage Laws?" Cornyn has a lengthy history of opposing gay rights initiatives, was critical of the US Supreme Court decision that overturned the Texas sodomy law, and condemned the Massachusetts Supreme Court for ruling in favor of gay marriage. "The title for the hearing is a cynical rhetorical set-up that calls into question the legitimate role of our judiciary. And to make matters worse, the committee's effort is also to plant the idea that basic civil rights should be reduced to a popularity contest and call that democracy. This is shameful," said David Tseng, executive director of PFLAG. "To discuss 'judicial activism' in this way is offensive. It is a way to attack judges who demonstrate courage and principle in matters of civil rights. The same was said of Chief Justice Earl Warren when he wrote the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Board of Education. What we take for granted to day as clearly the right decision was derided in its time as 'judicial activism.' " But just who are these 'activist' judges? Lambda Legal has just complete a lengthy study of recent court rulings that favored gays. Six of the seven justices on the Massachusetts high court that recently ruled gay couples have the right to marry were appointed by Republican governors. Republican presidents appointed four of the six U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to strike down Texas's law banning gay couples from having sex. The orange County judge who in 2000 issued an injunction requiring public school officials to allow a Gay-Straight Alliance student club to meet on campus because it allowed other non-curriculum-related groups to meet has a history of mainly conservative rulings has also been called an "activist". However, most of his other rulings have been distinctively conservative. Another judge with an extensive conservative background is Justice Dunne is a state court judge in Long Island, New York. In 2003, Dunne ruled that a gay man could sue a hospital for the wrongful death of his late partner; it was the first case in the nation that respected a couple with a civil union from Vermont as "spouses." "The claim that 'activist judges' are behind these rulings for equality is nothing short of a fraud," said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director Lambda Legal. "Our Constitution requires judges to be fair-minded and independent, regardless of their political beliefs and sometimes in the face of strong political opposition." Lambda Tuesday announced a multi-pronged, multi-state campaign to challenge misinformation from opponents of same-sex marriage. The campaign, said Cathcart, will hold politicians and organizations responsible for using false claims to advance an antigay political agenda. Called "Judging Discrimination" it will use ads in mainstream daily newspapers in targeted states to debunk the claims, organize letter campaigns to criticize public officials, and challenge the media to be wary of politicians and groups using the phrase "activist judges". CC